Fake 'regime change' operation in Venezuela ramps up as military vehicle runs over rioters in Caracas - UPDATES

RT
Wed, 01 May 2019 09:07 UTC

© Twitter / Noticias Caracol

An armored vehicle, which appears to belong to the Venezuelan National Guard, has been filmed ramming into a crowd of rioters in Caracas. Clashes have broken out in the capital, amid an ongoing coup attempt.

Footage published on social media by several Latin American TV channels shows three armored military vehicles being confronted by a group of people on a highway in Caracas.

Some of them can be seen punching the vehicles, throwing stones and hitting cars with sticks. At one point, one of the official vehicles is seen ramming the crowd, appearing to run over several people.

Comment: Washington Goes For The Jugular: Puppet 'Leader' in Venezuela Launches 'Military Coup' Against Maduro Government

It is unclear, though, if the incident resulted in any life-threatening casualties. At least one person can be seen being hit by the vehicle and another one is seemingly lying on the ground following the incident. It is also unclear, who exactly was behind the wheel of the car.

The incident occurred amid reports of clashes between rival groups of the Venezuelan National Guard in Caracas.

Earlier on Tuesday, the US-backed self-proclaimed 'interim president' Juan Guaido called for a decisive action against the elected government of President Nicolas Maduro, in what Caracas says is an attempt to stage an armed coup against the Venezuelan government.

Comment: They planned this stunt in such a way that some units of soldiers were ordered to go to the site, but on the pretense of taking part in an awards ceremony. Then they were ordered to take weapons to a prison, arm the prisoners, and set them loose on Caracas:

Meanwhile crowds of protesters and opposition-aligned soldiers mobilized in Caracas on Tuesday, with local health authorities saying that at least 59 people were injured in protests. Still no reports of deaths though.

The US FAA issued an 'international security' notice closing off Venezuelan airspace to all US carriers operating below 26,000 feet, unless they are given permission by 'another agency of the US government'.

This is blatantly part of the stunt, to make it seem like the situation in Caracas is 'hotter' than it actually is.

The Venezuelan Defense Minister has warned that he would order his forces to suppress the armed revolt, if necessary, saying:

"Anyone who comes to [the presidential palace of] Miraflores with violence will be defeated with violence. If we have to use weapons, we will use them," while also blaming Guaido for "any death ... on the streets."

Footage tweeted by the Venezuelan NTN24 TV channel shows a crowd in the capital yesterday with a couple of SUVs loaded with soldiers:

This is because there had already been an anti-government protest planned, and the soldiers just blended in 'for the optics' - specifically, making it look like millions of Venezuelans were out on the street cheering on 'the revolution'. There weren't millions; there weren't even that many thousands, and they didn't have a clue what was going on.

Guiado's supporters from across Latin America have emerged to praise this next step in the US-backed regime change. RT reports:

One by one, leaders and officials from Latin American states are taking to social media to applaud opposition leader Juan Guaido's attempted military coup in Venezuela, some even encouraging an army mutiny.

The leaders heaped praise on the Tuesday coup plotters on Twitter, and denounced President Nicolas Maduro as a dictator.

"Brazil sympathizes with the suffering Venezuelan people enslaved by a dictator," said Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, adding "we support the freedom of this sister nation to finally live a true democracy."

Colombian President Ivan Duque went a step further with an open call for mutiny in the Venezuelan military, asking the armed forces and citizenry to "reject Maduro's dictatorship."

Sebastian Piñera, president of Chile, tweeted that "Maduro's dictatorship must end," to "restore liberties, democracy, human rights and progress in Venezuela."

The foreign ministries of Peru and Argentina, in similar fashion, also backed the coup attempt.

And the usual suspects from Washington have made their appearance as well, with the war-whore John Bolton calling for 'regime change' while maintaining that what's happening in Venezuela isn't a 'coup'. His reasoning? "This is clearly not a coup. We recognize Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela." American exceptionalism in its ugliest form.

Trump threatened Cuba with an embargo if it does not immediately end its support of Maduro's government:

Pompous little Marco Rubio took to Twitter all night long, conducting his own arm-chair regime change, calling on every citizen, soldier, and police officer to kick Maduro out of the country.

However, things don't seem to be going as Washington planned. A number of armed supporters are now seeking refuge in Brazilian and Chilean embassies, suggesting that their attempts to win over military and police forces to their cause was a bust. RT reports:

Venezuelan opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez has sought refuge in Chile's embassy in Caracas, while at least 25 pro-Juan Guaido troops asked Brazil for refuge. The news all but points to the failure of the US-backed coup attempt.

Lopez had been under house arrest since 2017, but was seen at the side of Guaido - who had declared himself "interim president" of Venezuela in January - on Tuesday morning, as supporters of the US-backed opposition sought to take control of Caracas by force. At least 50 people were injured and 11 arrested during the unrest on Tuesday.

By the afternoon, however, Chilean Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero tweeted that Lopez, his wife Lilian Tintori, and their daughter were "guests" of the Chilean diplomatic mission in Caracas, adding that "Chile reaffirms commitment to Venezuelan democrats."

Later on Tuesday, Lopez and his wife moved to the Spanish embassy, according to Ampuero, who tweeted that it was a "personal decision" on the part of the pair, who are of Spanish descent.

Meanwhile, at least 25 armed Guaido supporters have sought refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Caracas, Brazilian media reported. There were no officers among them, according to reports.

Despite these early signs of failure Guaido has doubled down, calling for more protests on Wednesday, stating "Today we started the final stage of Operation Freedom. And tomorrow we will continue, with more spirit than ever," and that "We knew that the start was not going to be easy, but we showed that there are soldiers willing to defend the constitution and many more remain." Unfortunately for him and his backers it does not seem that there are enough soldiers to overthrow a democratically elected president 'defend the constitution'. If Maduro's numbers are to be believed, then Guaido's goose has been cooked:

Maduro stated that 80 percent of troops involved in the mutiny attempt had abandoned Guaido, with only a small group of about 20 officers "handing over their souls to the coup-mongering far right." Those military officers who answered Guaido's calls for regime change in the country, Maduro noted, were lured by the opposition "under false pretenses," but once they came to their senses, they "left the coup leaders alone" and surrendered.

Maduro went on to announce that Guaido's coup attempt has been a complete failure, and proposes pursuing legal action against his conspirators:

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has congratulated the military for "defeating" the plotters of a coup after a day of protests called for by opposition leader Juan Guaido.

Maduro called the opposition supporters a "small group that tried to fill the country with violence" and confirmed his government has faced several "modalities" of a coup d'état.

The president also announced the appointment of "three special prosecutors" to examine "criminal" actions by the opposition, noting that "we have colonels wounded by bullets and in intensive care."

Some of the protests were peaceful and others led to intense skirmishes, yet fatalities were avoided throughout the day. A few dozen people were injured by rubber bullets, tear gas and - allegedly - live ammunition. An armored vehicle was also recorded ramming into a cluster of Guaido supporters.

At least five soldiers and two colonels were also injured in the clashes after being shot by coup plotters, Maduro claimed. At the onset of the violence, Venezuela's defense minister warned early in the day that the army would resort to force if necessary.

Pompeo has his own explanation for why things aren't turning out the way Washington hoped - it's Russia's fault! He took to CNN to tell the world that Maduro was ready to 'flee the country' until the Russians convinced him to stay:

He's lying through his teeth of course. Maduro was never in danger of having to flee.

Whatever the extent of Russian backroom support, if they do their part to restore sanity and stability to the world, then why not?

Russian influence sure does seem to have a balancing effect wherever Washington pursues its 'regime change projects'. Russian FM spokesperson Maria Zhakarova did her part by delivering a scathing rebuke of Washington's coup, stating that "If Washington would continue to push forward with its interference ... into the internal affairs [of Venezuela] that might cause the whole situation to collapse."

Erdogan, no doubt reminded of the US-backed coup attempt in his own country, also condemned Guaido:

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an ally of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, condemned the Guaido "coup" after Caracas saw a day of violent clashes between supporters of the incumbent and the opposition leader.

He told how Turkey has historically "struggled with coups" and speaking after footage emerged of military vehicles seemingly ramming protesters, warned of the "negative consequences" of such uprisings.

"The entire world has to respect the democratic choices of the people in Venezuela," he wrote on Twitter, adding that Turkey unequivocally condemns the coup.

Meanwhile there has been a standoff at the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington DC. RT reports:

Police have shut down the entrance to the Venezuelan embassy in Washington DC, as crowds backing the country's opposition confront the activists who have been defending the building for over two weeks.

Chanting and waving Venezuelan flags, protesters supporting Juan Guaido have been engaged in a heated standoff with a group of activists led by antiwar group Code Pink. The group is one of the organizations who have been holed up inside the Venezuelan embassy in order to prevent diplomats loyal to Juan Guaido from taking control of the building. The activists say they were invited in by embassy staff.

UPDATE 1st May 2019 13:00: Checkpoint Asia reports:

The Entire Venezuela "Coup Attempt" Unfolded Within a Tiny Section of an Upscale Caracas District

Never start a coup without at least two crates of bananas!

What a pathetic, sad bluff/costume party Trump admin poured its hopes and tweets into

The New York Times:

President Trump on Tuesday accused Cuba of aiding the government of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela, who the administration evidently hoped would be ousted by day's end, warning that the United States would impose an embargo and additional sanctions on the country if Cuba did not end its support.

And what exactly was the Trump administration placing such hopes in? Moon of Alabama:

There are no reliable reports that any additional military besides the 30 or so men on the bridge have switched to Guaidó.

15:00 UC;

Someone points out that the soldiers supporting Guaidó carry M4 Colt assault rifles. The official assault rifle of the Venezuelan military is the Kalashnikov AK-103. Back in February there were a number of flights from Florida to Venezuela which delivered weapons to the opposition.

16:00 UTC:

It is becoming clear that this coup attempt is no more than a stupid PR campaign. Here is a map of the whole 'coup' scene which plays in a small area of the wealthy Altamira district of Caracas.

At the bottom of the map is the La Calota air base, also known as Generalissimo Francisco de Miranda Base, which Guaido supporters tried to enter. They threw rocks against the guards until tear gas drove them away. Directly north of it runs a highway east to west. The two highway bridges on which Guaidó's soldiers stand are crossing the highway right next to the base. Some 500 meters north of the highway bridges is Plaza Altamira (the upper blue point) where Guaidó spoke to some supporters.

The highway bridges can be seen in this video taken from north of the highway looking south across the bridges towards the airport. In the video some fireworks go off to which nervous Guaidó supporting soldiers on a bridge respond (12 vid) by firing a few shots into the air.

The whole coup attempt was run within a 500 x 200 meter corridor with nothing of significance happening outside of it. A dangerous propaganda stunt but so far nothing more than that.

Far from a "military uprising" this was a fake-it-til-you-make-it theatre with Guaido trying to create the appearance of one. Trump, Pence, Pompeo, Bolton and Abrams didn't just root for the "coup attempt" but actively took part calling on Venezuelans to fall behind Guaido. The silly bluff/costume party did not work, the Venezuelan troops stayed at their posts so now of course the Russians, the Cubans, and the Martians probably are to blame because how else to account for the failure of such a foolproof plan Trump admin poured its hopes and efforts into??

Gotta love the Pompeo/Bolton amateur-hour attempt at psy ops. Bolton trying to make Maduro suspect men closest to him are talking to Americans, and Pompeo trying to spread rumors Maduro is soft and a quitter.

Sorry guys but creating the appearance of a "military uprising/coup" on Twitter and pulling one off in the real world are two different things.